Understanding Viewports & Navigation in 3DS Max

Now that we all have the same default UI, let's go over the viewports and navigation tools in 3DS Max! 

 

1️⃣ Viewports Overview

🔹 The largest area of the screen is occupied by the four default viewports:

• Top View (Top-Left) 🌍
• Front View (Top-Right) 👀
• Left View (Bottom-Left) ↩️
• Perspective View (Bottom-Right) 🏞️

📌 Key Notes:

• These viewports display the same scene from different angles.
• You can change any viewport by selecting Top, Front, Left, etc., and switching to another orthographic view.
• The Perspective View will be used most often.

✅ Maximizing a Viewport:

• Click inside a viewport and select Maximize Viewport Toggle (bottom-right).
• OR press Alt + W to toggle between full-screen and multi-view.

2️⃣ Viewport Navigation Controls

💡 How to move around in 3DS Max:

• Hold Middle Mouse Button (MMB) → Pan (Move view left/right/up/down).
• Scroll Wheel → Zoom (In/Out).
• Hold Alt + MMB → Orbit (Rotate around objects).

✅ Orbit Options:

• By default, orbit rotates around a selected object or scene origin.
• To change orbit settings, use the Orbit Point of Interest button (bottom-right).
• Recommended setting: Use the bottom option to orbit around the mouse cursor position.

3️⃣ Resetting View & Perspective vs. Orthographic

🔹 Lost in space? 🛸 Reset your view!

• Click the Home Icon on the View Cube (top-right).
• OR Press Z (with nothing selected) to reset to home view.

🔹 Perspective vs. Orthographic Views

• Perspective View (Default) → Shows depth & realistic scale. 📏
• Orthographic View → No depth, perfect straight lines, useful for CAD-like modeling.

📌 Switching between views:

• Use the View Dropdown (top-left of each viewport).
• OR use the press U for Orthographic and press P for perspective.

4️⃣ Shading & Wireframe Options

🔹 Shading Modes:

• Default Shading (Full color, smooth shading).
• Wireframe (F3) (Only edges, no shading).
• Edged Faces (F4) (Shaded model + visible wireframe).

📌 Toggle Wireframe & Edged Faces quickly:

• Press F3 → Switch between Wireframe & Shaded modes.
• Press F4 → Toggle Edged Faces (shows wireframe on shaded models).